1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chiropractic

CHIROPRACTIC, the name given to a method of healing employed in the United States, based on the theory that most disease is the result of displacement of the vertebrae of the spinal column, resulting in abnormal pressure upon the nerves as they emerge. It is held that the articular joints are frequently thrown out of alignment, it may be only in slight degree, and the constricted nerves are thereby prevented from transmitting to the various bodily organs the mental impulse necessary for proper functioning. The human body has been charted, and it is claimed that the nerves emanating above each vertebra regulate particular organs; hence the cause of different diseases can as a rule be readily localized. Health is possible only when all the organs function harmoniously, and disease of one organ may affect some other. The chiropractor attempts to find the subluxated joint, and with the bared hand to adjust it. He never resorts to drugs or surgery; he merely tries to relieve the impinged nerve and leaves the rest to nature.